Nenad Gračan

Nenad Gračan
Personal information
Full name Nenad Gračan
Date of birth (1962-01-23) 23 January 1962
Place of birth Rijeka, SFR Yugoslavia
Height 1.79 m (5 ft 10 in)
Playing position Midfielder
Club information
Current team
 Croatia U21 (coach)
Youth career
Rijeka
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1979–1980 Orijent
1980–1986 Rijeka 136 (31)
1986–1989 Hajduk Split 55 (10)
1989–1993 Oviedo 90 (1)
1995–1996 Rijeka 10 (1)
Total 291 (43)
National team
1984–1986 Yugoslavia 10 (2)
Teams managed
1998–2000 Rijeka
2001 Hajduk Split
2001–2002 FC Koper
2002–2003 Osijek
2004 Dinamo Zagreb
2007 Istra 1961
2008 Nafta Lendava
2009 Croatia Sesvete
2009–2010 Rijeka
2013– Croatia U21

* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only.


Nenad Gračan (born 23 January 1962) is a retired Croatian footballer who played as a central midfielder, and a current coach.

Club career

Born in Rijeka, SFR Yugoslavia, Gračan started playing professionally for hometown's NK Orijent and, soon thereafter, HNK Rijeka, amassing nearly 150 official appearances. He then moved to another club in his native Croatia, HNK Hajduk Split, for which he appeared intermittently over the course of four full seasons.

Late into 1989, Gračan signed with La Liga club Real Oviedo. Joined by compatriots Janko Janković and Nikola Jerkan in his second season, he helped the Asturians finish sixth and qualify for the UEFA Cup by contributing with 26 matches, and eventually appeared in more than 100 games overall.

Aged almost 31, Gračan left Oviedo and returned to his country, now independent. After two years of inactivity he played a handful of games with first professional club Rijeka, but retired shortly after. In the following decade, he took up coaching, starting with his last team as a player, but he rarely settled.

International career

Gračan was capped ten times for Yugoslavia, but never attended any major international tournament. In 1984, the 21-year-old helped the Olympic squad win the bronze medal in Los Angeles, featuring in all but one games and scoring in the quarterfinals against West Germany (5–2).[1]

References

  1. ↑ Nenad Gračan – FIFA competition record
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